Chapter 7
What?
I was just about to say something when the door swung open.
“Roz, it’s time for lunch,” Callum said as he stepped in.
Spotting Zachary inside, he quickly added, “Someone mentioned you were here. I didn’t know Mr. Ramirez was with you. I hope I didn’t walk in on anything important.”
“It’s fine, Callum. You came at a perfect time.” I casually walked over and stood closer to him, hoping that might make Zachary back off.
But that didn’t work out.
Zachary didn’t even blink. He just asked smoothly, “Are you two dating?”
“No,” Callum replied without hesitation. “We’re just coworkers.”
“Good,” Zachary said. “Then I’ve got a fair shot.”
I raised my brow. “What if we were together?”
Zachary looked at me, smiling calmly. “Then I’d just grab you away.”
***
Zachary stuck around, claiming it was all for business. But after that
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day, Callum barely had meals with me anymore.
Every time I tried to make plans, he’d say he was busy. Still, I couldn’t shake this weird feeling.
The way he denied anything between us when Zachary asked made me uncomfortable.
Was he just trying to avoid office gossip?
A few days later, I noticed my coworkers were acting differently. Their expressions were strange when they saw me.
One of the guys chuckled, “Congratulations, Rosalyn. Moving up fast, huh?”
“Huh?”
“You didn’t tell us you were connected to someone so powerful.”
Another one chimed in, clearly jealous. “No wonder you got that promotion last quarter. It turns out Mr. Ramirez had your back.”
“That’s total crap! Zachary and I have nothing going on!”
“Oh, sure,” one said sarcastically. “Nobody ever admits it. You women do rise quickly these days.”
Just as I was about to snap, a female colleague suddenly stood up, grabbed a water bottle, and chucked it straight at them.
We weren’t even that close-used to argue now and then over work stuff. But she stood up for me anyway.
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“Shut up! Don’t try to discredit everything Rosalyn worked for with your nonsense!
“She earned that spot fair and square. She was the top performer. Of course she got promoted!”
The guys went quiet, clearly intimidated. One muttered, “Callum said it. It wasn’t us.”
I abruptly looked up. “Who did you say?”
“Callum…”
I stood there, stunned.
The last promotion spot came down to me or him. In the end, I got it. He congratulated me afterward, told me I deserved it, even called me his favorite junior. He smiled sincerely at that time, just like back in college.
Was it all fake?
I needed to find out for myself. I wanted to believe he wasn’t like that.
So, I met him in the break room.
“What’s up?” Callum asked, wearing his usual smile. “I’ve just been swamped lately. Lunches haven’t worked out, but I’ve been eating on my own.”
“Did you say anything to anyone about me and Zachary?”
“Nope.” He denied it immediately. “Why would I? Is there some rumor going around?”
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I nodded.
“Just ignore them. They’re just bitter because you’re doing better. A lot of people are probably jealous.”
“But gossip like that has to come from someone on the inside.”
Callum frowned and pondered. “You’re right. But you and Zachary went into the meeting room alone that day. That wasn’t private. Plenty of people saw it.”
I didn’t respond.
Then, he suddenly shifted topics. “By the way, are you managing the charity project?”
“Yes.”
“Could you add me to the team? I’m interested. I’d love to help out.”
We were short on hands for the project, so I agreed.
But when I looked at Callum’s overly enthusiastic grin, something just didn’t sit right.
